listening to pinkpantheress while waiting for red robin to knock on my window !
vanilla scented summer fantasy books victoria’s secret flavoured lipgloss kisses polka dots & stripes ballet flats cuddles under a blanket ghibli movies paddington snoopy the legend of zelda final fantasy resident evil hirono deer brown eyes ᯓᰔ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
( 💌 ) DREA level xviii (18!) & spanish megumi fushiguro’s & tim drake’s & tamon kotaro’s sweet girl certified lover girl book nerd obsessed with anything vanilla DC girl hufflepuff & cabin 7 & esfj hellenic polytheist attempted writer in my free time jujutsu kaisen and DC comics centric!
𐔌‧₊˚ currently reading! :: gachiakuta, phantom busters & the cadence of part-time poets (and a lot of fanfiction •͈ᴗ⁃͈⊹)
𐔌‧₊˚ currently watching! :: grey’s anatomy season 1
hi! i was just wondering if you still plan on continuing your current damian fic series. it’s really good
hello!! yes :) small story time: i broke a tendon in my middle finger and had to get surgery a month ago; i still can’t move my hand properly, so i can’t write 😭 i was so excited to finish this series this summer, but the odds aren’t in my favour it seems…
ceo tim drake x assistant!reader, fluff and smut (first time writing smut be nice!!!!) MDNI!!! idiots in love, yearner tim drake, (he whimpers :0), based on this request
fanart by @/bee-doodle
It was always slow at Wayne Enterprises around noon. Everyone went to lunch and since you were Tim Drake’s assistant, your lunch hours were different.
You had been mindlessly playing with a W.E pen when you saw Bruce Wayne approaching. Your whole body went rigid at the sight and you quickly opened a random Word document in your computer to pretend to be busy.
Except he didn’t spare you a glance and went straight towards Tim’s glass office doors.
He had that infamous Bruce Wayne stoic expression on his face. Eyebrows slanted, eyes blazed, lips turned upside down. It was enough to make you jump out of your chair.
“Mr. Wayne!” You said and stumbled towards the door of Tim’s office to stop Bruce from going in. “Can I help you?”
“I need to see Tim,” he said with finality in his tone. Jeez did the man ever smile?
“I’m sorry he’s unavailable right now, I can take a message,” you replied with a tight smile.
“It’s urgent,” Bruce pressed.
“I’m afraid he’s on a very important call and asked not to be disturbed.”
“I’m sure he can make time,” he replied, voice getting impatient.
“Okay um, can I at least go in and let him know you’re here?” You asked, hand already turning the doorknob.
Bruce didn’t say anything in return. Which was approval in itself.
You gave him another forced smile and entered Tim’s office.
As expected, he was curled up on the couch that probably cost a million. A throw pillow was clutched in one of his arms while the other was hanging off the side of the couch along with his red tie that he hadn’t even bothered to take off.
When he showed up to work this morning, he looked like he’d been through the ringer last night. Hair disheveled and messy as if he had forgotten to douse it in gel –no pomade (like he had corrected you multiple times) the way he did every morning. Eyes swollen and red and a fresh bruise on his jaw.
Maybe your boss was an underground fight club member.
It almost broke your heart to wake him up, he looked so peaceful and young like this. Like a guy his age should look.
Against your will, you kneeled down next to him and brushed his hair off his face. An involuntary smile appeared on your face at the sight of Tim sleeping and you mentally scolded yourself for it.
The months and months of progress you’ve made to bury your feelings for your boss was not about to go to waste just because he looked adorable while he was sleeping.
“Tim,” you whispered.
He didn’t even stir so you shook his shoulder a bit harder and called out his name again.
“Tim!” You hushed and he finally stirred awake.
“Hey,” he blinked and stared at you with wide blue eyes. “What's up?” He asked, rubbing his eyes open.
“Bruce is here,” you informed.
“Huh?” He asked again and sat up straight.
“Bruce, he’s here,” you repeated.
“Right!” Tim sprang up and tightened his tie before lightly slapping himself awake.
He rounded his desk and sat down on his chair before gulping down the glass of water sitting there.
“Send him in,” he said to you.
You nodded your head and walked out to let Bruce know Tim was ready for him.
“All good,” you smiled at Bruce and gestured for him to go in before going back to your desk.
There was nothing to do. You had answered emails, scheduled Tim’s meetings and organised your desk and it wasn’t even 1 o’clock yet.
Usually Tim was there to entertain you. Sure he had his CEO duties but you usually lounged in his office, sometimes playing chess and sometimes talking about random things while everyone else went for lunch. And sometimes you didn’t even talk, he did his work while you did yours on your little work iPad you carried around.
But today he had been exceptionally tired and the two energy drinks he had didn’t do shit to keep him awake.
He was a good enough boss. Better than your last one really and it probably stemmed from the fact that he was your age.
You had expected a pompous rich nepo baby asshole who happened to have a rich dad who gave him the CEO job for the hell of it when you had applied for the position.
But Tim was none of those things, in fact he was one of the nicest people you knew. A little awkward but extremely talkative and funny in a way most people didn’t really get.
You did though, you laughed with him. You got all of his jokes. Not only his jokes but you had developed a habit of knowing all of his tells. It felt like the two of you had your own secret language.
Like if he was in an extremely boring meeting he didn’t want to be a part of, he would look at you through the glass doors in a silent prayer that only you could understand.
The way his voice always got an octave higher when he was talking about something he liked –which more often than not, only happened when you were around.
It was these little things that added up this last year that made you fall for your boss. And no you wouldn’t tell anyone about this.
You would die with it buried deep in your chest and maybe when he got married to someone one day you would read about it in the newspaper and look away.
Not only was he your boss but you were 101% sure he did not feel the same way.
To him, you were someone he could ask for coffee, to reschedule his meetings and to keep his father away when he took his afternoon naps. He would never see you as a potential romantic partner and you were okay with it.
Plus he paid you enough. If for nothing, you could keep your feelings to yourself for that.
You looked at the glass wall of his office, blinds now drawn up.
Bruce was standing in front of his desk with his palm flat on it. Tim was nodding along to whatever he said but you could tell he wasn’t really listening.
Then he looked up and his eyes met yours.
Those perfect blue doe eyes of his that always made you melt. That made you believe that maybe you could risk it all.
You made a face at him and he smiled. It lit up your whole heart.
A few minutes later, Bruce was gone. All he gave you before leaving was a curt nod.
You were out of your seat and inside Tim’s office within seconds.
“He looked scary today, everything okay?” You checked and sat down on one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Yeah,” Tim let out a loud sigh and tilted his head back. “Another god damn gala next week.”
You snickered. All the Wayne kids hated these galas so much. “Good luck.”
“You’re coming too,” Tim said.
“No thank you,” you scoffed. “I’ve already worn all the nice dresses I had to your galas. Plus, I have a movie date with myself next Saturday. Can’t make it.”
“Reschedule it,” he dismissed.
“You’re not my boss on the weekends Mr. Drake-Wayne.”
“No but I assumed I was your friend and I’m asking for a friendly favour.”
“That’s not how you ask for favours,” you quipped.
“Please, pretty please. I’ll pay for the dress and take you to lunch,” he pleaded with a little pout and fuck if you even stood a chance.
“Fine,” you relented.
“Thank you,” he smiled. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Crash and burn,” you replied.
“I truly would,” he sighed.
You got up from the chair before he could see you getting all flustered and giddy at his stupid remark and left the office.
Tim watched you go and didn’t say anything. Maybe he was still groggy from his little nap or maybe he had given up but either way, he didn’t come up with any more excuses to keep you in his office.
He didn’t really need an assistant, not really. But Bruce had been breathing down his neck about getting one so he could focus more on his other activities.
And when he saw you stumble inside his office and shake his extended hand with your opposite hand, he knew he had to hire you.
Who needs a doctorate for answering phone calls anyway and you were qualified enough.
He was so sure he had made an ass out of himself when he introduced himself to you. But you were equally as awkward, it was a match.
And so what if he didn’t tell you that the company phone he had given you tracked your location.
It wasn’t always there, just after the Christmas party incident of last year when one of Gotham’s many villains decided to pay Wayne Enterprises a visit.
He had to go be Red Robin, he couldn’t exactly keep you safe like that. So a week later you had gotten a brand new company phone which had all the necessary numbers already added in and as Tim told you, it would alert the authorities immediately if you called the number.
He didn’t mention it would alert him before the cops.
In his defense, he just wanted you safe when he couldn’t reach you. You already lived in a shady neighbourhood, he did not want you to be unsafe everywhere else too.
Honestly he paid you enough he still didn’t get why you couldn’t move. Maybe he had to talk to the accounting department to see if he can give you another raise.
Your complaints about your apartment building never stopped. He even hired someone to go over to that building and fix everything they could and even that hadn’t been enough.
A busted intercom, really?
That had been his biggest concern.
Anyway he had gotten it changed the next day.
He watched you now through the glass wall of his office. You were swivelling in your chair, clearly bored out of your mind since he only ever gave you just enough work to not draw any suspicions. Everything else was handled by him.
He picked up the phone on his desk and dialled your desk phone.
You picked it up and in the sweetest voice possible said, “Mister Drake’s office, how can I help you?”
“Mister Drake would like to know why’s his assistant pouting,” Tim said through the phone.
You sighed and looked at him through the wall.
“I’m bored and I’m done with work.”
“Let’s go for coffee then,” Tim offered before he could stop himself. He would give you the world if he could.
“Tim, you have a 1:30 with Lucius Fox,” you reminded him.
“Nooo,” he groaned and put his head on the table. “I don’t want tooooo,” he whined.
“Tough,” you chuckled in response and hung up.
Five seconds later, Tim was leaving his office and coming to you.
He leaned back onto your desk, a bit too close than you’d have liked him to be. You could smell his cologne –something citrusy and rich which made you think of all the wrong things.
“What does Lucius want?” Tim asked and picked up the paperweight from your desk.
“I don’t know, he wouldn’t say,” you rolled your eyes. “A measly little assistant like me wouldn’t even begin to understand the big boy things you do.”
He chuckled and set the paperweight down. “It’s probably just something about the new bio tech subdivision.”
“You’re right I don’t know shit about it,” you said.
“So what’s new?”
“You don’t have to stop working and talk to me just because I’m bored. You should probably be yelling at me or giving me work to do,” you said. “It’ll look like you’re playing favourites.”
“You’re right. Ahem,” he coughed and furrowed his eyebrows. “How dare you sit there and be idle!” He yelled in a serious tone.
“As hilarious as that was,” you smiled. “It’s nearly time for your meeting. Shoo,” you dismissed him.
He whined again. “Can we switch jobs for one day?”
“If I get paid as much as you do, probably yes. Now leave!” You ordered and pushed him off your desk but of course he was probably like 180 something pounds of pure muscle so it was a futile attempt.
“Yeah okay,” Tim sighed and finally moved. “I do need you to check the tech and the accounting files though.”
“I will,” you nodded and swivelled your chair to pull out the chest of drawers that had all the files.
-
It wasn’t until 9 PM that Tim left his office. He probably had one of the longest days of his life today and all he wanted to do was go home and sleep for as many hours as he could before he had to leave for patrol.
But when he saw you still sitting on your desk, he stopped short.
Maybe sleep could wait.
The whole office was already dark, everyone else having gone home. The only light that was on was the lamp on your desk, it cast a painfully white glow on your face but it didn’t make you any less beautiful to him.
“Hey,” Tim said, cutting the silence. “Thought you went home?”
“No I was just finishing up with the files,” you said and turned off your computer. “I thought I was the only one here.”
“I’m just leaving,” he smiled.
“Yeah me too as soon as I find an uber,” you sighed.
“What happened to your car?” Tim asked as you two made your way towards the elevator together.
“Well I took it to the mechanic and he offered me 500 dollars to give it to him so he could pull it apart and use the good parts that still worked,” you replied.
“Good. It was a safety hazard,” he chided and pressed the button for the basement.
“Excuse you,” you huffed.
“I’ll give you a ride,” Tim offered. He didn’t know exactly why he offered but he did and the look on your face made him immediately regret it.
“No that’s okay, I’ll just wait downstairs,” you politely declined.
Nope you wouldn’t. And he didn’t entirely agree with you going home in your weird sketchy neighbourhood in an uber this late at night.
“Come on, I don’t mind. I have to ensure my employees’ safety,” he pressed.
“Well if you have to,” you agreed with a dramatic breath.
Good, you saved him an hour of looking obsessively at his phone just to see if you safely made it home.
He hid his smile and walked out of the elevator after you, quickly making his way to his car.
He opened the passenger side of the door for you, getting a bit too close to shut it behind you then scolding himself for it when the smell of your fruity shampoo wafted over him.
It was truly pathetic of him.
He walked over to his side next and started the car, pulling out of the basement parking lot.
“Thank you for this, you not only saved me time but also money,” you chuckled.
“I’m more than happy to take you home until you get a new car,” he replied then told himself to calm the fuck down.
“That’s okay I usually go home with Zack, he lives around the corner from my apartment.”
Well Zack’s hours will be changing soon.
“Huh,” Tim said and added in your address to his gps.
“How do you know my address?” You frowned.
Fuck.
“It was in your file when you interviewed,” the lie rolled off his tongue so easily it was honestly impressive.
“Oh I didn’t think you read all that,” you said with a surprised chuckle.
“I don’t usually, I read yours though.”
“Why?” You asked, looking over at him.
All he could do in response was shrug.
Silence fell over the two of you after that. It was surprising to Tim how he could be quiet for that long considering he literally never shut up and had the habit of rambling when he was nervous and oh he was nervous around you alright.
It wasn’t awkward though, it was the silence of two people who knew and liked each other and could be in each other’s company without needing to have a conversation to fill the awkward gap.
He was giving you glances occasionally. You were looking out of the window with a content expression and Tim smiled to himself at that.
It took everything in him to remain seated and not reach over and kiss you.
He had the sudden urge to go stargazing with you. It was strange and he was beginning to lose his mind.
A pit of despair fell into his stomach when he turned the corner of your apartment.
He parked the car right outside the curb of your apartment building and got out first. With rushing footsteps, he walked over to your side and pulled the door open before you could.
You gave him a puzzled look and stepped out.
“I should be the one doing that for you, I’m the assistant,” you joked and walked over to the door of your building with Tim behind you.
“Office hours are over. I like to think we’re friends when we’re not colleagues,” he said and stopped right in front of the stairs leading up to the lobby of your apartment.
You stood on the first step, now nearly the same height as him but not quite.
“Thank you,” you smiled shyly and clutched the binders you were holding in your right arm closer to your chest while the left held your laptop bag.
“You’re welcome,” Tim smiled back.
Just as you opened your mouth to say something to keep the conversation going, your phone began ringing in the pocket of your pencil skirt. It was an important call too considering it was your company phone that was buzzing at 9 PM.
“Can you?” You asked, gesturing towards your busy hands.
“Oh um,” he furrowed his brows and looked at you in confusion.
“My phone!” You repeated impatiently.
“Right!” He replied and stepped forward.
One of his arms was curling around your waist so he could reach the back pocket of your skirt. His chest was flush against yours, his cheek touching yours while his palm was snaking inside the back pocket of your skirt.
Your breath hitched immediately at his touch. His hand was warm. And big. And you could feel it against your ass.
His other hand was pinching the fabric of your skirt in his hands to hold it down so he could pull your phone out and your brain short circuited.
By the time he took the phone out, it had stopped ringing.
You looked up at him with wide eyes. He was so close that you could see his crystal blue eyes clearly.
“I meant I needed you to hold my bag,” you let out in a low voice.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, still just an inch away from you.
He licked his suddenly dry lips. His arm was still curled around your waist and your chest was still pressed against his but he didn’t dare let you go.
“It’s fine,” you replied and looked away from him, too flustered to even be around him.
“Sorry,” He quickly repeated and finally let you go when he saw the look on your face. “I don’t know why I did that.”
“Well, bye!” You said and this time, you didn’t spare him another glance before running inside.
Yeah he was definitely going to have to quit his job and stay home and never leave his apartment.
-
When you got to work the next morning, you decided to forget the night before happened. So Tim Drake –your boss (who you had feelings for, not to mention) gave you a ride home. So what? He probably did that with all his employees. And it was a simple misunderstanding that he had his hand on your ass to pull your phone out.
That's what you had been telling yourself all the way to work.
What the hell was he doing anyway? He was your boss. He was your boss who you had very strong feelings for and he shouldn’t be this close to you while looking like that when he was the reason you stayed up all night overthinking every interaction.
Fuck him.
The next few days at work included you avoiding Tim at all costs and him doing the same.
He walked over to his office every morning and never even spared you a glance which was so unlike him because he always stopped at your desk in the mornings to chit chat about random things. It was one of your favourite things about him, his ability to talk and talk.
You looked at him through the glass wall one time despite yourself. He was leaning his head back on his chair with both of his hands covering his face like he was having an existential crisis.
You quickly looked away before he could look at you because that had been your thing, he always somehow caught your eyes.
For the next few days, you worked and worked and didn’t give Tim one glance or even talk to him unless absolutely necessary.
It was Saturday now, the night of the gala.
You were in the makeshift ballroom on the ground floor of the Wayne Enterprises building where the gala was supposed to be held.
Tim hadn’t been here yet and you were somewhat grateful for that. You still needed to get your nerves together before you could see him again after avoiding him for days.
He hadn’t been joking when he told you he would pay for your dress because he had and it was a very expensive gift that you were wearing.
It was a simple sleek black full body dress that had rhinestones on the corseted chest area and you were utterly grateful for Tim’s black amex card.
As if you had summoned him by thinking about him, he walked in with Dick, Steph and Cass behind him.
His eyes immediately spotted you at the bar with none other than Zack.
You were laughing at something he had said and it was enough to make Tim clench his teeth in frustration.
It was almost as if you two were tethered because you felt his gaze on you and before he could even approach, you met his eyes from across the room.
You excused yourself from Zack and went over to Tim and his siblings.
Steph immediately engulfed you in a friendly hug. So did Cass while complimenting your dress. Dick hugged you as well because he was Dick and he was a hugger.
It would look extremely weird if you only left out Tim so you quickly reached forward to give him an awkward side hug but he put both his arms on your waist instead.
You pulled away but he still lingered, hands still clutching your waist until he finally let you go and gave you an awkward smile.
“You look…” he trailed off and swallowed thickly, looking you up and down.
Hot?
Ravishing?
Like out of his wet dream?
“Gorgeous,” he settled on the safest option.
“Oh look alcohol!” Steph cheered and quickly walked away with Cass behind her.
“I’ll just uh,” Dick said and gave you a tight smile before leaving you two alone.
Subtle.
“Thank you,” you smiled and felt your cheeks heat up under Tim’s scrutinised gaze.
“You’re welcome,” he smiled back. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something in my office and I’m afraid it can’t wait,” he said in one breath.
“Is everything okay?” You asked, suddenly worried.
“Yeah yeah,” he shook his head. “Just something work related.”
“Okay…” You said and followed him towards the elevator to go up to his office.
“I uh,” he began once you two were in his office. “I’m sorry. About that night. I shouldn’t have touched you like that, I wasn’t thinking. I think I’m just leaning too much on you and it’s not fair to either of us. I’m your boss and it’s just inappropriate.”
“Tim,” you said and backed away from him. “It’s fine, you sound like you’re breaking up with me,” you chuckled then mentally slapped yourself.
He laughed too but it felt forced. “Maybe. Um look, you’ve been a great employee and I swear you’ve saved my life multiple times. At times, it felt like I couldn’t have survived this job if it wasn’t for you and I’m so so grateful–”
“Are you firing me?” You interrupted his rambling.
“No!” He exclaimed. “I’m offering you a promotion. It’s in the marketing department. It’s the job you’re most qualified for based on your resume and you’ve proven more than once that you’re a great employee so,” he stopped and looked at you expectantly.
“Oh,” was all you could say. “That’s… a lot.”
“Take your time to think about it,” he added quickly.
“It means you won’t be my boss anymore,” you said instead.
“Yeah,” Tim replied with a small smile.
And that felt like a small win.
The offer had been a surprise even to him. He had to go talk to Tam and she didn’t understand why he suddenly wanted to get rid of you but it all clicked together within seconds.
He had looked so miserable while talking about how amazing of an employee you were. She got the feeling he didn’t want to let you go as much as he wanted to let you in.
He couldn’t stand to be your boss anymore and he would pray to any god who would listen that you accepted the offer.
You stared at the clock ticking behind Tim for a second before your eyes landed on his crooked tie.
“Your tie,” you giggled.
“Don’t be rude. I had to watch a youtube tutorial because my assistant who always did my ties has been avoiding me,” he said before he could stop himself.
“I’m not avoiding you,” you sighed and stepped closer to fix his tie.
Tim’s heated gaze stayed on you as your fingers brushed his neck and collar to fix his tie. He had known how to tie a tie of course he had, you don’t grow up in the upper class world of Gotham without learning how to tie a tie.
But the first time you had seen him in his office with his tie turned backwards during your first week at the job and offered to do it for him, he had let you.
He had been a fool that entire meeting. He didn’t hear a word Bruce said, just kept looking at his tie with a stupid smile plastered on his face.
He had vowed to never do his ties again after that. Any excuse to get you to touch him was enough.
You stood inches away from him now in the dim light of his office. Looking something out of his wildest fantasies and he didn’t know how much longer he could pretend.
The detective in him had also noticed the shift in you too. How your breathing got shorter every time he was in your vicinity, how your eyes always sought him out, how you laughed way too loudly you almost snorted whenever he made a joke.
Maybe he had won and maybe you did want him after all but he would never do anything on a whim to jeopardise what you had. He’d be your friend forever if it meant he could keep you in his life.
“We missed our chess game this week,” he said now, in a low voice as he gazed down at your pouty lips perfectly painted with gloss that he would think about until the day he died.
“I was busy with work,” you lied.
You stayed put in your spot just inches away from Tim even after you were done fixing his tie. A palm glued flat on his chest while the other fell helplessly at your side.
You blinked as if something had finally snapped you back to reality and moved away from him.
Just as you turned around to leave, Tim’s common sense bid him goodbye too.
He was quick to grab your wrist and jerk you back towards his chest. Before either of you could ever process what was happening, Tim’s lips were on yours.
A surprised gasp left your mouth at the sudden kiss. Your eyes blown wide in complete contrast to Tim’s closed ones. He wrapped his arms around your waist to keep you flushed against him in case he was dreaming again.
He pulled away and rested his forehead against yours, realising what he had done.
“I’m sorr-” he began but you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him back down for a kiss.
One of his arms remained around your waist while the other rubbed up and down your back like he was too scared to even loosen his grip in case you disappeared.
“Tim,” you managed to speak between the searing hot kisses he was giving you.
“Yeah?” He asked and reached for your mouth again, taking your bottom lip between his teeth.
“Wait,” you panted and pushed him away.
He finally relented and let you go. Chest heaving with so much hunger for you he was practically buzzing.
“We can’t do this, you’re still my boss,” you murmured.
“Yeah,” he chuckled without any humour and wiped your lip gloss off his mouth. “Let’s go back.”
“Tim, wait,” you said and he turned around to look at you. “I said we can’t do this. While you’re my boss,” you repeated.
“I get it,” he took in a frustrated breath and ran his ring clad hand through his raven hair. “You don’t have to repeat it. I didn’t forget.”
“You know for a prodigy you really are dense,” you quipped, making him look at you in confusion. “I’m saying I accept the offer you idiot.”
“Oh!” His eyes widened and a grin broke out on his face.
You smiled and stared at him, waiting for him to kiss you again but he just stood there and mirrored your expression.
“Tim!”
“What?” He asked in confusion.
“Kiss me, you fool!”
“Oh right!” He jumped forward and picked you up, causing you to giggle before he sat you down on his desk.
“You’re so stupid,” you chastised.
He rested his forehead against yours. “Careful, I’m technically still your boss.”
“Sorry, Mr. Drake,” you mewled, trailing your painted nail down his clothed chest.
Tim sucked in a breath and finally kissed you again with all his of pent up hunger pouring out in one single kiss.
“You have no idea,” he spoke in a deep voice, momentarily stopping sucking on your bottom lip to talk. “Always in those damn skirts of yours, sitting right in front me.”
“What-”
“Shh,” he said and put his finger on your glossy lips.
You looked at him through a needy gaze before parting your lips so your tongue could slip out and swirl around his finger.
He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes for a second at the sight of you parting your lips to wrap around his finger.
“Fuck,” he cursed and parted your legs so he could slot himself in between them.
With a tsk, he pulled his hand away from your mouth and trailed it down your neck and collarbones, leaving goosebumps of desire in his wake.
Once he reached your breasts, he brushed his thumb over one nipple through the fabric of your dress and you could have sworn your brain shut down at the sensation that shot through your whole body and ended up right between your legs.
“Tim,” you whispered and pulled him towards you by his tie. “I need you…”
“Need me to what?” He asked against your mouth like the little shit he was.
“You know,” you groaned in impatience.
“I don’t,” he smirked, feigning innocence.
“Touch me,” you managed.
“I am touching you,” he replied and bit his bottom lip to stop himself from smiling at your already fucked out state.
“You’re so annoying,” you rolled your eyes and pushed him away to hop off the desk but he laughed instead and stopped you.
“You can’t even say you want me to fuck you,” he chuckled condescendingly.
Your cheeks heated at his crudeness but you didn’t say anything. Not that you could because he immediately got down on his knees right in front of you and slowly with careful hands, pushed your dress up.
He trailed wet open mouthed kisses from your calf to your inner thigh, making your chest heave up and down in excitement.
He parted your knees next and cursed under his breath at the sight or your lace panties.
“You wear that for me?” He asked and looked up at you through long black lashes.
“No…” You teased. “It was for Zack.”
“Oh?” He raised a brow and put his thumb right where you needed him, applying just enough pressure through your panties as a form of punishment. “Then why aren’t you with him? Why are you here letting me touch you like this?” he finished and applied even more pressure until your jaw went slack in pleasure.
“Tim please,” you whimpered.
“Maybe I should leave you here like this, spread open on my desk for Zack to find,” he clicked his tongue and pulled his hand away, about to stand up.
“Don’t you dare!” You fumed and pushed him back down with your hand in his hair.
He chuckled triumphantly like he was so proud for calling your bluff and moved closer to press a light kiss over your panties. “You still haven’t told me what you need from me?”
“I need you to make me cum,” you whined, voice cracking like you were about to cry with how turned on you were.
“Don’t cry sweetheart I’ll take care of you,” Tim cooed. “You just had to ask.”
“I’m asking you,” you bit your bottom lip when you felt his long and nimble fingers slide your panties down your thighs so slowly it felt like torture.
He kept pressing wet kisses on your thighs until your panties were off and tucked away safely in the pocket of his suit jacket.
His thumb found its way back to your clit –this time without the barrier of your panties. You immediately melted at the strange yet pleasant feeling of his fingers rubbing your wetness.
“Who got you this wet?” He murmured with so much desire in his voice, you were surprised he hadn’t fucked you yet.
“You did,” you whispered.
“See? You can be a good girl, just need a little nudge,” he gave you a sweet smile and put his fingers back on your clit.
He leaned even closer and finally put his lips on you, swirling his hot tongue around your wetness. Your mind went blank at the first flick of his tongue and all you could do was let out small whimpers of pleasure.
He let go of your dress that he was holding up, causing it to fall over his head and used both of his hands to part your legs even further.
His finger came back and prodded at your opening before slowly pushing in, causing your fingers to tighten up in his hair. He grunted at the feeling which in turn sent a wave of pleasure through you.
“Oh… fuck,” you gasped when he nipped at your clit. “Right there, fuck!”
You felt yourself get closer and closer to your release with each movement of his finger in and out of you moving in tandem with little flicks of his tongue on your clit and right when the coil in your stomach was about to break, he pulled away.
“What the fuck?” You bellowed.
He pulled his head out of your dress and stood up to his full height, lips now swollen and glistening with your juices. A teasing smirk made its way on his lips at your reaction but he didn’t do anything about it.
Instead, the asshole just stood there and sucked your juices off his fingers.
“Why’d you stop?” You whined and he stepped forward.
He pressed his lips against yours in response. You could taste yourself on his tongue as it tangled with yours before he finally pulled away and walked over to the front of his desk.
“Tim what's so important right now?” You watched him in impatience as he opened the drawer and pulled out a condom.
“You have a condom just sitting there?”
“Yeah,” he shrugged and came in to stand in front of you. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to fuck you. I had to be prepared in case the opportunity presented itself.”
“You are so weird,” you giggled and watched as he took off his dress jacket and tossed it on an empty chair.
“Weird or practical?” Tim asked with a raise of his eyebrows.
You pulled him forward by his tie again instead of answering and plucked the condom out of his hand. He watched as your fingers traveled down to unbutton his dress pants with such determination he would almost smile at how cute you were if he wasn’t hard as a rock.
Your lips found their place in the crook of his neck, pressing wet kisses everywhere you could on the exposed skin while you fiddled with the button of his pants.
His pants finally came off low enough for his bulge to be free from the painful confines. Your lips were still attached to his neck, giving him hickeys just because you could and just because he looked too damn delicious in that black suit of his.
“Possessive much?” He chuckled.
You pushed his boxers down and his cock sprang free. Your eyes travelled low to take in the sight of the leaking red tip of his cock. It probably wasn’t appropriate to think of dicks as pretty but you weren’t sure if there was any other way to describe Tim’s.
Tearing the foil wrapper open with your teeth, you rolled the condom onto his dick with precision, causing him to let out a shaky breath.
“Okay enough,” he grunted and swatted your hand away, taking his cock in his own hands.
He tugged it once, twice before putting the tip right over your clit, not quite pushing it in.
“Tim I swear to god…” You threatened through gritted teeth which was enough for him.
He finally pushed all the way in, knocking the breath out of your lungs.
“Fuuuck,” he moaned, head falling forward on your shoulder.
He turned his head to the side and pulled your earlobe between his teeth before letting it go and nipping at the exposed skin of your neck.
“Move, please,” you croaked.
“You feel so much better than I imagined,” he moaned and began thrusting in and out of you. “And believe me I’ve thought about this a lot.”
“Pervert,” you giggled and wrapped your arms around his shoulders.
“If you knew half the things that went through my head every time I saw you…” He trailed off and raised his head up from your shoulder.
He attached his lips to your collarbones instead, the deep V line of your dress exposing enough of your skin for him to go feral. He kissed and sucked on your skin until he reached the valley between your breasts.
“Tim!” You cried out in pleasure, feeling his tip hit all the right places.
“Keep saying my name,” he coaxed and licked your nipple through the fabric of your dress.
“God fuck!” You screamed, hands coming back to his dark locks. “Keep going!”
He raised his head back to his full height and rested his forehead against yours, still thrusting in and out of you at a relentless pace.
The wooden desk rocked back and forth underneath the two of you with each harsh thrust he delivered accompanied by a whimper and he sounded so pretty you couldn’t help but kiss him.
Your other hand flew to the side to grip the edge of the table but it collided with the pen holder instead, causing it to fall down on the floor with a clatter.
“You feel like a dream,” he panted against your lips. “Fuck baby… so… warm… you’re made for this. For me, aren’t you?”
“I’m close,” you cried once the earlier feeling of your impending release washed over you again.
“Say it,” Tim gritted. “Say this pussy belongs to me and I’ll let you cum.”
“Fuck!” You cried again and pulled at his dark hair. “It’s yours, it’s always been yours.”
“Yeah?” He pecked your lips and sped up his pace. “God I’m so in love with you,” he confessed through clenched teeth.
“I… I love you too,” you whispered.
“Cum for me baby,” he cooed and reached his hand down to rub tight circles on your clit. “Cum on my cock. Show me how much you love me.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Apparently it was the only thing you could chant as you fell apart on his cock.
“I love you… fuuuck… I love you so much,” he almost whined in his fucked out state before finally releasing into the condom.
Tim immediately fell limp on top of you, not caring that you were both still dressed in extremely expensive clothes and had a whole gala to go back to.
Your hand came up again to cradle his head to your shoulder while he tried to regulate his breathing.
“You mean it?” He asked and looked at you through glossy eyes. “You love me?”
“I do,” you smiled and cupped his cheeks. “I’ve loved you for about a year now,” you said with a shy smile.
“I might actually be an idiot,” he laughed at himself and slowly pulled out of you, making you both gasp.
“I can’t believe you fucked me on your desk,” you said like suddenly realising what you had done while you fixed the top of your dress.
The condom was discarded now and his boxers and pants were pulled up. If it wasn’t the mess of his hair and the hickey on his neck, you would have no idea what just happened mere seconds ago.
He grabbed a few tissues from the desk and cleaned you up before helping you off the table. He was being so careful and gentle with you it was almost impossible to believe he was the same person who rearranged your insides just a minute ago.
“Tim, my panties?” You looked around the dim office in confusion, trying to remember where he threw them off in the haze of want and need.
“I think I’ll hang on to those,” he smirked and pulled you in for another kiss.
this was such a fun request, thank you anon! hope it was what you wanted!
whys writing smut so hard? i always think i’m so bad at it
likes comments and reblogs appreciated, hope you guys enjoy <3
synopsis: you have a crush on red hood and your best friend stephanie brown thinks it’s so funny. funny enough that she introduces you to her brother, jason todd.
word count: 1.9k | cw: reader almost gets mugged, this is also not super canon compliant - the batfamily are all happy and hang out together because that's what i want lol
note: i'm back! sorry i've been gone! took a little break from pitt fiction to write for my (second) favorite robin <3 i’ve been a jason stan for a while, but here i am finally throwing my writing into the ring, enjoy!
No matter how many times you told Stephanie that you didn’t have a crush on the Red Hood, she refused to believe you.
You’re sitting on your couch in your apartment, there’s some movie in the background and Steph is next to you. You’d thought she had fallen asleep, so you pulled out your phone. You were looking at a Red Hood updates page when she suddenly sprung up, ready to tease you about your crush again.
“Red Hood updates, huh?” you quickly turn your phone off and look to the blonde next to you.
“It’s nothing, just an account I followed a while ago.”
“Hmmm, sure,” she laughs, reaching for the popcorn bucket that was sitting on your coffee table, “I’ll try to believe that.”
She goes back to watching the movie for a bit and then asks, “Hey, are you still coming with me to the gala thing next week? Cass will be there and all her brothers.”
“Yeah, sure,” you say, “I still need to find a dress, though.”
Stephanie and Cassandra invited you a couple weeks ago, you were out getting dinner for a girl’s night when the topic of Cass’s brothers came up. You knew a little bit about her background, but not much, and you could tell she didn’t want to give much, which was fine. You’d let her share on her own time. You did know that she was adopted by Bruce Wayne, though, which meant that she had an assortment of brothers that had also in some way or another come into Bruce Wayne’s care. “You should come! You can meet them all, it’ll be so fun!” Stephanie had said excited, “Tim would love it if you were there!” Tim would hang out with you and Cass sometimes, you’d also heard random stories about his brothers from him too.
“Yes, please come,” Cass chimed in.
“You can finally meet Dick, Jason, and Damian,” Stephanie winked at you. You’d heard a lot about the rest of the brothers, but you hadn’t yet met them in person.
The time would finally come when a couple weeks later when it was time to make your Wayne gala debut. You’d gone dress shopping with Steph and Cass and landed on a floor length silk crimson dress, which of course Stephanie poked fun at. “Hoping we run into a certain batboy on the way?”
“Shut up,” you playfully swat at her arm as you get into Tim’s car. Steph, Cass, and Tim had shown up at your apartment to pick you up, Tim agreeing to be your chauffeur for the night.
You’d feel out of place if your friends weren’t there that night. You weren’t used to this world of excess — gowns, champagne, tuxedos, and designer heels everywhere you looked — but everyone else handled it with ease.
The four of you found a table to set up at. At some point, Tim started waving, calling over to what you soon figured out were his other brothers.
Dick was the first to introduce himself, flashing you a killer smile that almost had you swooning. Sparkling blue eyes and a suit that was tailored just right to him, he was quick with a joke and when he talked, you felt like the only other person in the room. He was so charming it was kind of annoying.
Damian carried himself with such grace you were impressed, he was short, but well built, and all sharp features. He was quiet, but you could tell he was taking it all in, observing every movement the others in the group made. He did perk up when you referenced your cat at some point in conversation, he even asked to see a picture.
But the one who really stood out to you was Jason. He demanded your attention in a way, well over six feet tall, the fabric of his tuxedo stretching around well defined muscles, and your eyes kept drifting to the little white curls that peeked out of his black hair. You noticed scars running along his large hands when he moved to grab his flute of champagne, which made your mind wander to where he got them from. He was quiet at first, taking a bit of time to warm up, but when he did, he cracked jokes and teased his siblings.
You don’t remember how it got brought up, maybe when you made a joke about looking for your next boyfriend on the dance floor, when Steph said, “I thought you were saving yourself for Red Hood?”
“Steph!” you gasp, “why would you say that!” Dick laughs and looks away, Tim makes wide eyes at you, and Jason looks, intrigued?
“It’s nothing,” you say, trying to wave it off.
“Please tell,” Dick implores.
“Well,” you start up your story, the same one Steph and Cass heard two months ago after it happened. “I was walking home one night aftera bad date, which was my first mistake. I wasn’t really focused, I was on the verge of tears — I didn’t even notice the creep behind me until he was pretty close. I started to speed up, he did too. I call Steph, thinking that would make him go away, it doesn’t. He’s starting to get really close, I’m honestly thinking about throwing my purse at him and running away. He starts to shout at me, and then boom, Red Hood is there and he’s punched the guy, telling him not to be a — in his words, fucking creep — and then,” you hesitate for a second, “he asked me if I was okay. Said he’d walk me to the nearest subway station. I don’t know, he just showed me kindness in a moment when I needed it. It’s a silly little schoolgirl crush, nothing more.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Dick rushes to your defense, shooting a look at Jason.
“Yeah, Red Hood’s cool,” Jason says, fidgeting with the now empty champagne flute in front of him.
“Steph thinks I’m so crazy for it,” you say, relieved.
“Don’t listen to her, her taste in men is Tim,” Jason says and you laugh, glad that her brothers have your back.
At some point in the night, people drift away, leaving you and Jason at the table alone, which is also when you learn that Jason is a bit of a gossip.
“That’s Barbara, she and Dick used to date,” he points to the woman with long orange hair who Dick left to talk to, “and that” — he says pointing to the boy Damian left to talk to — “is Lois Lane’s son Jon, they’re good friends.”
You’ve really enjoyed your time with Jason, he’s funny and you mesh well. You’ve been telling him stories of your own life, how you ended up in Gotham, what you do for work, how you met Steph and Cass (the answer: your 8am lecture at Gotham University, which Steph would come late to and ask you for lecture notes).
Before you know it, it’s the end of the night, and everyone’s trickling out. Tim is rounding up you, Cass, and Steph to leave when Jason stops you on your way out, asking you for your number.
Over the course of your first year together, Jason find is endearing how much you really do love Red Hood. He thought that Steph was exaggerating, but when he saw you change your lockscreen from a picture of Red Hood to a selfie of you and Jason, he knew you were in deep.
You have little Red Hood figurines around your apartment - on bookshelves and by your bed. You wear a ratty oversized Red Hood T-shirt when you go to bed, and he, like Steph, saw your name came up as following the most popular Red Hood updates account on twitter.
He thinks it's sweet, but it also kills him that you don't know that this whole time you're harboring a secret crush on your own boyfriend. He thinks about telling you multiple different times - when he has to cancel on a lot of dates that include hanging out at nighttime, when he has to explain away random bruises and scrapes, or when he stops himself before he accidentally tells you a story that reveals his secret.
He finally decides, at some point, that he'll tell you as a part of your one year anniversary together. He figured that you stuck around with his weird excuses for long enough and that you deserved to know the truth. He also figured that you weren't going anywhere, he really loved you and he could tell that you carried that same love for him. Now, he wanted you to love every part of him, vigilante activities included.
"You ready, babe?" Jason calls from the kitchen of your apartment, dressed up for the dinner reservation that he made for your anniversary. He was supposed to patrol tonight, but he bribed Dick to take his place.
You come out of the bedroom in a red dress that Jason is obsessed with, it hugs your body in all the right places, looking through your purse to make sure you had everything you need. You looked up and smiled at him, "Yeah, let's go."
He took you to a cute little Italian place that just opened up in Gotham and then out for ice cream after. He was nervous on the way back to your apartment, not knowing what your reaction to his surprise would be. When it came to gifts, he asked you to go first. You gifted him some new penguin classics for his collection and some gear for his motorcycle that Dick helped you pick out.
Then it was Jason's turn - he gave you the standard gifts first: a beautiful necklace with a little J on it, so you could wear his initial around; and some other little trinkets that he saw and thought of you. You move in to hug him and kiss him on the cheek, "Thank you Jay, this is really sweet," he helps you put the necklace on, his large hands warm on the back of your neck. He's a bit nervous when he says, "I actually have one more surprise for you."
"Oh?" you smile at him, "What is it?"
"Just give me a second," he says, disappearing back into your bedroom. When he comes back out a few minutes later, he's dressed in his Red Hood garb, his helmet in his hands. Your jaw drops and you're silent for a couple seconds, which has him nervous, bouncing on his feet.
"What," you're still stunned, "where did you get this costume?"
"It's mine," he laughs, "I'm the Red Hood."
"Oh my god!" You jump up, covering your mouth with your hands, "is this why you're always randomly busy at night? You're out there," you move closer to him, looking at his costume and feeling all the little details, "saving people. And all the bruises, you're fighting all the time."
"Are you mad?" he asks you, eyes searching your face for an answer.
"What?" you look up at him, "Jason, you've basically just made my biggest fantasy come true," you put your hands on his chest, "I can't believe this whole time I've been dating the Red Hood."
"Do you know how hard it's been to keep this secret from Red Hood's biggest fan?"
You laugh, "So that night, when I almost got mugged, that was you that stopped him, you that offered to walk me to the subway station?"
"All me, baby," he wraps his arms around your waist.
"And Steph, she knows?"
"Yeah, she knows."
"I'm so stupid," you hide your face in Jason's chest, "that whole time she was making a big deal out of it, she knew! She was," you gasp, "she was trying to set us up, wasn't she?"
"Knowing her, probably," he laughs.
"She let me make a fool out of myself, talking about my crush on Red Hood while he was right in front of me the whole time."
"For what it's worth, I thought it was cute."
"You know what would be cute?" you raise an eyebrow at him and move your hands down his chest a bit, "if you and I went back to that bedroom and kept talking about this there."
hi everypony!!! here to let you all know i’m alive. barely surviving though, final exams are next week and i’m #stressed, but i’m also working on chapter 5 of damian’s in his feelings during my study breaks so philosophy doesn’t take all my brain cells! expect it soon (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹𝟹
when you move to a new apartment, supernatural problems start to arise. things going bump in the night, shadows moving in the corner of your eye, belongings going missing... you would’ve already packed up your bags and left if it weren’t for your new neighbor, okkotsu yuta, who’s always there to save you. however, as time goes by, you start to notice that something just doesn’t add up...
content: language, crude humor, attempt at horror, modern au, yuta is sus af
note: yuta gives me the creeps (i love him) and yes i intended for the reader to be suspicious of him bc who tf magically appears at your front door 30 seconds within u texting him...
The curses tears out of him the moment the webbing jerks tight from his wrists, pale strands snapping firm against the iron lamppost like they’ve got a personal grudge. A second later, they haul him upward with brutal force, and he slams into the brick wall hard enough to knock the breath right out of him. Boots scraping for purchase where there ought to be none, he catches himself on the sheer stone and keeps going, because apparently gravity is just a suggestion for him.
Below him, the city doesn’t care. The streets hum on, busy and oblivious. Cars crawl through traffic, headlights smearing across wet pavement. Somewhere down there, a little kid no older than three points up at the sky with all the wonder in the world, thumb half-out of his mouth. His mother doesn’t look up once. She only pushes the stroller faster.
He vaults the rooftop in one clean, desperate motion.
Up here, the wind bites harder. October has finally settled in, dragging cold air and rattling windows behind it. His hoodie snaps at his back as he runs, shoulders forward, feet pounding over gravel and tar until he slams through the rooftop door with a crack of splintering wood.
The stairwell swallows him whole. Dim light. Tight walls. His footsteps hit the concrete in a frantic rhythm as he takes the stairs two at a time, already reaching for the key in his pocket, fingers clumsy with panic.
“Come on… come on…”
The lock resists him just long enough to be cruel, then gives way with a soft, blessed click.
He bursts into the apartment like he’s escaping a fire.
Aang sits cross-legged on the bed, controller loose in one hand, the blue flicker of the TV washing over his face. He doesn’t even flinch.
“Hey, man,” he says.
Zuko yanks the red-and-black mask off his face like it insulted him personally and tosses it aside. It lands in a heap on the bed as he starts shedding one life for another in a rush. Hoodie off. Gloves off. Suit gone.
What’s left is not much better. Wrinkled black trousers and a shirt that still carries the faint stain of last night’s cheap Chinese takeout, the soy sauce dried into the fabric.
“Should I wear a tie?” Zuko mutters, mostly to himself.
Aang pauses mid-bite, popcorn hovering near his mouth. “Where are you going?”
“The cinema.”
Aang tilts his head, studying him like he’s an interesting species of idiot. “Cute. Then no.”
Zuko exhales, slow and shaky. “Good.”
Aang grins. “So who is she? This new flame of yours?”
“Girl from the decathlon team,” Zuko says, tugging at his sleeves, trying to flatten wrinkles that refuse to die. “Captain, actually.”
Another handful of popcorn disappears into Aang’s mouth, entirely unconcerned with the fact that Zuko’s soul is currently exiting his body.
He turns to the mirror.
Dark hair, stubborn as ever. That birthmark over his left eye. Once, it had been all he could see when he looked at himself. Now it’s just there. Part of the face. Part of the story. Not the whole thing.
“How do I look?” he asks.
Aang doesn’t even look up at first. “Like a washer just spat you out.”
Zuko blinks. “Really?”
“Mhm.” Now Aang looks at him, chewing thoughtfully.
“God,” Zuko mutters, dragging a hand down his face.
He fixes his collar. His hair. Then fixes it again, because apparently stress has decided to live in his fingertips.
“You could just…” Aang waves lazily toward him. “Go as Spider-Man. You’re way more confident with the mask on.”
Zuko shoots him a look sharp enough to cut glass. “I cannot walk up to a girl and say, ‘Hello, I’m Spider-Man.’ What am I, an idiot?”
Aang grins wider. “Worked pretty well with that cute journalist.”
“That’s different,” Zuko snaps. “That’s-” He stops, scowling. “You’re a hollow gourd.”
“I’m sure she’d fall for you,” Aang says, blissfully unconcerned.
“Fuck you.”
Zuko bends to grab his shoes and freezes.
“…Are those my Jordans?”
Aang follows his gaze down to his feet. Guilt hits his face so plainly it almost counts as a confession. “Uh… yeah.”
They stare at each other.
Then Zuko lets out one long, broken breath. “Unbelievable.”
Aang shrugs. “You weren’t using them.”
“I am using them. Now. Tonight.”
“Well…” Aang waggles one foot. “Too late?”
Zuko steps forward and holds out a hand. “Take them off.”
“Come on-”
“Now.”
Aang sighs like a martyr heading to his doom and starts unlacing them. “You know,” he says, working the knot loose, “if this goes badly, you’ll wish you’d worn the mask.”
Zuko snorts. “If this goes badly, I’m never leaving this room again.”
Aang hands over the left shoe. “That bad?”
“You don’t know her.”
“No,” Aang says, settling back against the bed. “But I know you. And you’ll either crash and burn spectacularly…” he tosses the right shoe toward him, “…or somehow pull it off and pretend you meant to.”
Zuko shakes his head, though a faint smile keeps tugging at his mouth. He laces up the Jordans and stands, shoulders squaring like he’s preparing for battle instead of a date.
“Right,” he says. “I’m going.”
Aang gives him a lazy salute. “Try not to die.”
The door slams behind him like thunder.
For a moment, he lingers on the landing, breath tight in his chest.
He could take the bus. He should take the bus. Normal people take the bus.
Then he turns around and goes back inside.
Aang doesn’t even look up. “Changed your mind?”
“No,” Zuko says, reaching for the mask again. “Just getting there faster.”
Aang grins. “Webs?”
Zuko nods once.
“Sweet.”
And then he’s gone again.
Out in the cooling dusk, he pulls the mask down and climbs with that strange, reckless certainty he only ever finds up high. Rooftops welcome him back like old grudges. He leaps.
The city opens beneath him.
Rivers of light. Distant voices. A thousand lives moving below without noticing the one cutting through the dark overhead. His web catches, pulls, releases. Again. Again. Faster, higher, cleaner. The wind tears at him, and he loves it for that. Up here, there’s no doubt. No hesitation. Just motion.
Near the cinema, he drops into a narrow alley, boots whispering against damp brick. He pulls off the mask and stuffs it into his pocket, then steps out into the light... and sees you.
You’re just beyond the theater glow, head bowed, music murmuring faintly through your earphones. A Diamond Rio (the music player) rests in your hand, thumb brushing over it absently while you watch your shoes like they’ve got secrets to tell.
Beautiful.
No. Worse than that.
The most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
Zuko straightens so fast it’s almost comical, shoving the mask deeper into his pocket and wiping his hands on his trousers like that’s going to do anything about the fact that they’ve suddenly got very sweaty.
You look up.
“Hey,” you say.
His heart stutters so hard it should probably be illegal. “Hey,” he answers, and the word comes out weird, like it had to force its way past his throat. “You, uh…” He gestures vaguely, then hates himself immediately for it. “You got tickets, or…?”
“I was waiting for you.”
He lets out a breath that is almost a laugh, almost relief. “Right. Yeah. That makes sense. Sorry I’m late.”
You smile, faintly amused by his nerves. “No problem. I’ve waited longer.”
Heat climbs up his neck at once. “So,” he says, because if he doesn’t keep talking he may simply evaporate on the spot. “Cinema.”
“Unless you’ve changed your mind,” you tease.
“No! No, of course not,” he says too fast. “I love movies. Donnie Darko. I mean, Jake Gyllenhaal. Great… actor…” The sentence dies slowly and painfully in the air.
You smile anyway. “Let’s go.”
He nods, deeply grateful that you seem too kind to mock him yet, and falls into step beside you.
He’s already seen the film, technically. Studied it, even, just in case. He’d wanted to be prepared for this. For you. It turns out preparation is useless when the actual thing is walking beside him. You say hello and his brain immediately starts smoking.
“Two tickets for Donnie Darko,” you say, pulling him back to earth.
You reach for your wallet. Zuko pats his pockets. Right. Left. Back. Nothing.
“I, uh-”
But you’ve already paid, smiling like it’s nothing at all.
Zuko finds five crumpled dollars in his shirt pocket and clutches them like an emergency beacon. “I’ll get popcorn,” he says quickly. “And a drink. For you.”
If Zuko had imagined the worst, the evening still manages to be worse in ways he never thought possible.
The theater swallows them in darkness and buttery air, the smell of popcorn thick as fog. He sits beside you stiff as a man awaiting sentencing, popcorn balanced on his knee, hands hovering uselessly because they do not seem to belong to him anymore.
“So… uh…” he starts, then immediately wants to die. Fantastic beginning. Truly. A sentence that should win awards for panic.
You glance at him, patient.
“The… cinematography,” he tries again, lowering his voice as the previews start rolling. “It’s… good.”
You blink. “You’ve seen it already?”
Shit.
“No!” he says at once. Too quickly. “I mean, heard. From people. Many people. Who watch… films.”
You smile, just a little. Not unkindly, which somehow makes it worse. Then the lights dim further and he movie starts.
For a while, there’s blessed silence, and he clings to it like it’s the last solid thing in the world. Ten minutes pass. Then twenty. And somehow it becomes unbearable.
He leans a little closer. Casual, he tells himself, though nothing about him feels casual.
“So… Jake Gyllenhaal,” he whispers.
You turn toward him, confused. “What about him?”
Play dumb.
“He’s… very… Jake Gyllenhaal in this,” Zuko says.
Not that dumb!
“…Yes,” you say slowly.
He nods like he’s just contributed something meaningful to the conversation, then turns back to the screen and wishes the darkness might swallow him whole.
A little later, his hand brushes yours in the popcorn bucket.
He freezes.
This is it. This is how things begin, isn’t it? Hands brushing. Fingers lingering. He’s seen it. Read it. Studied it in far less terrifying movies.
Do not pull away, his brain scolds him.
Instead, his reflexes commands him to jerk back like he’s been shocked, and a small cascade of popcorn rains straight into your lap.
“Shit! Sorry, I-”
“It’s okay,” you say, laughing softly as you brush the kernels away.
Laughing. At him? Maybe. Probably not, but that’s not how it feels to him anyway.
“Great,” he mutters under his breath. “Perfect.” Damn you, spider senses.
Later, he tries again. This time, he’s going to be bold. Bold men do not whisper about cinematography and shy away at the touch. Bold men act. Bold men seize the moment. Carpe Diem!
He turns toward you, heart hammering, and reaches for your hand too fast, too stiffly. His fingers close around yours. You blink at him. He blinks back.
“...Hi,” he says.
You smile, though it wobbles a little now. “Hi…?”
He lets go at once, as if only just realizing what he’s done. “Sorry. I- thought there was… uh…”
A long pause.
“…a bug,” he finishes weakly.
“A bug.”
“Yes.”
“In the middle of the cinema?”
“…Yes.”
You study him for a second longer, then turn back to the screen, though the corner of your mouth is still lifted with faint, bemused amusement.
By the time the credits roll, Zuko feels like he’s survived a war and lost it on every possible front. His shoulders ache from holding himself together this long. His thoughts are a mess of every stupid thing he’s said and every second he wishes he could erase.
The lights rise slowly. People stir while standing to leave. Zuko sits there for one beat too long, gathering what little dignity he has left.
“Well,” he says at last, forcing composure into his voice. “That was… a film.”
You laugh again, soft and real, and get to your feet. “It was.”
He stands too and follows you into the aisle, uncertain, unsteady, like the floor might suddenly vanish beneath him.
Outside, the night air hits cool and sharp. You walked side by side beneath the streetlamps, the city dim and quiet around you. Zuko keeps his hands at his sides, fingers twitching with the urge to do something, anything useful. Words have failed him once already. He doesn’t trust them not to betray him again.
“You’re quieter now,” you say at last, glancing over at him.
“I’ve said enough,” he mutters.
A small smile touches your lips. “You weren’t that bad.”
He stops walking.
“Not that bad?” He repeats, like he’s testing the phrase for hidden meaning.
“Yes,” you say, turning to face him beneath the lamplight. “Just… a little intense.”
“A little.”
“A little.”
That gets the faintest ghost of a smile out of him. He starts walking again.
“I don’t usually do this,” he says after a moment.
“Dates?” you ask.
He grimaces. “If that’s what this was.”
You laugh softly. “What did you think it was?”
“A tactical failure?”
That earns him a real laugh this time, and it hangs between you, warm despite the cold.
“You’re funny,” you say.
“I am not.”
“You are. Just not on purpose.”
“That’s worse.”
“Maybe,” you say. “But I liked it.”
He slows. “You… did?”
“I did.”
Then you’re at your door. “Well,” you say, turning toward him. “This is me.”
“Yes.”
God, say something, he tells himself.
Anything.
Instead, when you step closer, close enough that he can see the faint cloud of your breath in the cold, his mind goes completely blank.
“You have… good… door placement,” he says.
You stare at him for half a beat. Then you laugh again.
Zuko closes his eyes briefly. “I’m going to stop talking now.”
“Good idea,” you say, still smiling.
And you lean in. It’s only a kiss on the cheek, light and brief, warm against the cold night.
“Goodnight, Zuko.”
“’Night,” he manages, his voice rougher than he meant it to be.
You slip inside. The door clicks shut behind you. Silence follows. Zuko stands there, unmoving.
Then...
“...Yes.”
A breath.
“Yesss!”
It bursts out of him sharp and victorious before he can stop it. His hand snaps up on instinct. A web shoots straight from his wrist and hits the metal bin nearby with a wet thwip. He blinks.
The bin tips over with a thunderous crash, spilling its contents across the pavement. Somewhere above, a window creaks open.
He does not wait.
The mask is on in a heartbeat. Another web fires toward the rooftops and he’s gone, laughter trailing behind him as he disappears into the night.
You close the door carefully with both hands, wincing faintly at the click of the latch. The house is quiet. No lights on except a faint glow from the kitchen.
You slip off your shoes and carry them softly across the floor, careful with each step. The kitchen table waits in the dark.
Then you see the newspaper.
It’s spread open, creased like someone has read it once, then twice, then one more time for good measure. The headline sits there in bold black print, glaring up at you from the page:
You go still.
Holy. Shit.
vivi's space: this was purely out of boredom based on that edit I posted on the evil website (which will be shared here as well). hope you liked it xx.
summary: summer had just begun, petunia would spend all of the three months at her boyfriend's, your parents were now away for a while. thank goddess for your older sister that is coming home with her whole group of friends. and since they're ridiculously attractive you don't mind at all!
tags/warnings: english is not my first language. evans!reader, muggle!reader, younger sister!reader, reader is only one year younger than lily, reader unlike petunia is extremely proud of lily and so supportive. the marauders + marlene being infatuated w reader, mention of wolfstar, curse words, reader not knowing about the upcoming war and arguing w lily because of it. severus slender. this takes place the summer before their 7th year. (not proofread!!!)
pairing: james potter x fem!reader
Even if Lily’s owl brings you a letter the evening before (which your mind still can’t comprehend how the hell is that even possible) that she and her friends will arrive at home late in the morning, you still wake up at 8 a.m. sharp.
You are all alone— your parents have taken a flight to enjoy themselves in the first weeks of summer, and your oldest sister Petunia is also somewhere far away with her new insufferable boyfriend, so it’s you who has to take care of the house now, well, at least until Lily comes back home.
At first you stay all sprawled over the couch, groaning and huffing like you didn’t choose to wake up so early, but after you eat something you start to clean the kitchen, then the living room, then the guest room over and over again.
It’s not like your older sister didn’t tell you that her friends would come over for a few weeks, because she did— even weeks earlier.
The truth is that you are a nervous wreck, firstly because you haven’t seen your sister since spring break, second because her friends are older than you and, with a cherry on top, are witches or wizards, as Lily has corrected you multiple times.
So what if they find you completely annoying? Or worse, totally ignore you for the rest of their stay? That would be totally embarrassing for you, and if that were the case then you would probably stay locked in your bedroom until they are gone.
You groan for the hundredth time in a row in those last hours, trying to keep your face neutral since it is starting to hurt from frowning so much while thinking so low of yourself.
You keep yourself occupied for the last hours, cleaning the house until you can actually see your reflection on the pavement and on the windows. Then you even decide to bake a cake at first, then a few muffins, then some pancakes, and then cookies, and so it goes on until the kitchen looks like a bakery.
Then, with slumped shoulders, you clean the kitchen again and position the sweets on the table so they look like a fresh photo from a magazine.
When you look at the clock your heart almost gets caught in your throat, because in a few minutes they will arrive and you still look like a mess— apron still on, dirty with flour and dough. Underneath you still have your pajamas on, which are in fact not flattering at all and not quite right to meet new people, and let’s not even talk about your hair, the curlers are still on and the hairpins are digging into your head.
With wide eyes and a racing heart you quickly remove the apron and put it in the basket of dirty laundry (that thank God is empty) and run upstairs, locking yourself in the bathroom.
With fast movements you freshen up, brush your teeth, and remove the rollers. You only apply a bit of gloss on your lips, today is one of those days when you look at your reflection in the mirror and are satisfied with your face even without makeup on. You have time to change into an outfit (that of course you had chosen the night before) and spray a lot of perfume all over you before you hear the doorbell.
You rush downstairs careful not to twist your ankle, or both while doing so, and before opening the door you stay a few feet away, collecting yourself, breathing in and out, putting on your best smile. Then you slowly open the door, and when you see your sister in front of you, you really can’t contain your excitement, jumping at her and hugging her tightly.
“Oh, how I missed you!” you murmur into the crook of her neck as Lily mumbles back, “I missed you too, so much.” When you break the hug your sister’s hands find your face and Lily, with red and teary eyes, admires you with a big smile on her face.
“You’ve grown up so much since the last time I saw you!” you brush it off laughing lightly, trying not to blush too much.
Marlene, next to her, coughs, catching your attention. “Marls!” you call, finding yourself shifting into her friend’s embrace. Of course you know Marlene, she’s pretty much the only friend of your sister you’ve known about. She has been visiting quite a lot since her first year, mostly during summer, but sometimes even Christmas and spring break, and you don’t mind at all. She would always bring this good energy into the house.
When your eyes catch the figures of four guys behind Lily and Marlene, you suddenly remember why you were so nervous in the first place.
You step aside, leaving the door open.
“Oh my God, come on in, I’m so sorry.”
Three out of four of them are ridiculously tall and very attractive which somehow makes everything worse because on the outside you might look calm, even confident if you must but inside you’re screaming.
You quickly run through Lily’s letter in your head:
1. Don’t stare too much at the scar of…? (You can’t even remember right now) And don’t ask about them, besides that he’s really nice— i think you two have actually a lot in common.
2. Do not flirt with the guy with long hair. Absolutely prohibited.
3. The short one is a sweetheart, but quiet. If he doesn’t talk it’s not because of you, he’s just shy around new people.
4. The one with the glasses? Eh, he’s just annoying. Don’t flatter him at all, is ego is already big.
You actually take your sister’s suggestions, but really have to see these things for yourself though. Lily is friend with Severus after all and you never liked that bloke one bit.
Everyone puts their bags down and after a not-so-friendly glare from Lily, the four guys finally introduce themselves.
Sirius, who is in fact annoyingly attractive, and worse, fully aware of it— takes your hand and bows theatrically to kiss it. That earns an eye-roll from everyone and a light smack to the back of his head from Remus. He is next to introduce himself, he gives you a sleepy, gentle smile before shaking your hand lightly.
Next is Peter, who introduces himself in the same way his friend did before, just a bit more awkward, but you can see the sweetness behind it.
The last one, a guy with round glasses, puffs his chest slightly before stepping forward, not quite meeting your eyes. Maybe he’s embarrassed or maybe he thinks he’s too important to even acknowledge you properly. For a moment you think that i may be the second option but then he smiles brightly at you, taking your hand with his left hand and then covering it with his right.
“James Potter, a pleasure.”
You hear Lily scoff beside you as you politely say your name again for the fourth time.
When you pull your hand away, it almost feels like you’ve been burned, like you’re already missing the touch of someone you’ve just met.
You clear your throat as all their attention shifts to you. “You can leave your bags in the living room for now” you say, shrugging lightly.
“And if you’re hungry I baked something” at that their eyes light up like children.
Walking toward the kitchen, they let out a few giggles as they take in the full table of different kinds of desserts.
For a second, nobody says anything. Then Peter lets out a small, almost disbelieving gasp.
“Merlin…”
“It’s a lot” Sirius says it, meaning it more like compliment than a statement at all.
Lily shoots him another look as she brushes a hand over your shoulder, leaning in to whisper in your ear.
“How did you-”
You don’t even let her finish, almost shouting through your whisper, “you know I’m a stress-baker!”
By now, Sirius has already moved closer to the table, completely ignoring everyone around him as he reaches for a muffin without hesitation. After the first bite he lets out a pleased sound, then points at you. “I am in love with you” he says, sounding completely serious, no pun intended.
All of them nod solemnly, agreeing with him, while James eyes you like you’re more exquisite than the cookie he’s eating. “These are great, thank you.”
You just give him an appreciative look as a small smile grows on your face.
Hours go by, and surprisingly today in London it isn’t a chilly, rainy day. It’s one of the hottest days of the entire year, even if summer has just begun.
So of course everyone is in the backyard, bathing suits on, trying to enjoy every bit of sun until you can.
You are lying on the grass, a cold drink in your hand, torturing the straw with your teeth as you giggle at something Marlene and Lily are telling you about their school year.
The rest of your sister’s friends are just next to you, listening to the story as if they weren’t there when it happened, everyone focused as Lily finishes the story— well, everyone except James.
He fears that if he looks at you more intensely your gorgeous head might explode, but it isn’t his fault at all! You just are so beautiful, smart, and hell, even funnier than he had thought, that he can’t genuinely stop himself from staring lovingly at you.
Sirius, who is next to him of course notices. He isn’t blind, like his friends, he thinks that you are a tremendous girl too (even if his eyes would always be set on Remus).
The long-haired boy snickers silently, but loud enough to awake James from his thoughts.
“What?” he asks, as his best friend gives him a knowing look.
Sirius just rolls his eyes, keeping a smirk on his lips. “Might as well just eat her, Prongs.”
James blushes, elbowing his friend who even dares to say such things when you are right next to them.
And so close.
When Sirius and James get distracted, the topic between their friends shifts pretty quickly. Now you are more comfortable and less nervous around them, and you are asking every insignificant but absolutely fascinating (to you) question about their world.
“So what, unicorns are real?” you ask in total disbelief. Lily nods nonchalantly as if it isn’t the greatest news you have ever heard. You groan loudly, sad to even miss such things just because you aren’t a witch.
Your brows pull together as your eyes move to look at each one of them.
“What about vampires? Or… oh! Zombies?”
Remus chuckles, shaking his head lightly. “I don’t think so.” They are all fair questions and he isn’t surprised at all by your curiosity. What he is most scared of is what you are going to ask next.
“Mhm… werewolves?” Yes, specifically this.
Peter chokes on his drink while Sirius pats his back, and Lily gives you a warning look that you don’t quite grasp, because how could you know?
“Erm… yeah” James answers awkwardly. Poor you, who are totally unaware of the social cues, continue to ask more about the species.
“Sweet! Do they go to your special school?”
Marlene, trying to keep her cool and not burst out laughing because of the nerves, answers very quickly. “Hogwarts” she corrects you, “and no, because they’re not wizards.”
You shrug, totally annoyed at the answer. Your sister being a witch is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to you, but going to a school only for witches? Boooring!
“They’re dangerous” Remus says bluntly.
No one dares to say a thing, mostly because even after reasoning with Remus a bunch of times how he is, in fact, not dangerous, he always takes it very personally and no one can really blame him. He has always seen himself as a monster, and every time the marauders tried to change his mind, he always loses a bit of temper.
But also because they want to see your answer even if you don’t really know that you are in the presence of a real werewolf you are a smart girl after all so you can feel the palpable tension because of it, even if you don’t exactly know why.
At Remus’ statement, you shrug again.
“I guess? But it’s only one time a month and I know for a fact that they can’t control themselves. There should be a school where they learn about this sort of things, don’t you think? For being in a magic world and all, you guys are pretty behind.”
Leaving everyone speechless, you get up to fill your glass, and while doing so you don’t even notice the rest of them behind you sharing a grateful look and Remus trying to hide a smile forming on his face.
Time passes and night comes pretty quickly, lunch goes great and everyone helps make a very simple but very good pasta. Now, as the weather cools down, you all go inside, change, freshen up and start to prepare dinner, after the main things are done you all move to the living room.
You are back to interrogating them about the exciting things they do back in their own little perfect world, everyone trying to explain things as they all crowd around you because of your curiosity— mostly James, though.
He notices the way your nose scrunches when you don’t fully understand, how your eyes widen when something more magical than you even imagined actually exists, or even how your eyes always soften adorably when you listen to Lily talk.
The problem is that he really does not know how to talk to you without sounding completely foolish or making a mess of himself, but then Sirius, so full of himself and trying to show off as he always does, tells you that Gryffindor has actually won the Quidditch Cup.
You frown a bit, because even if Lily has mentioned Quidditch and briefly explained what it is, it still sounds confusing, mostly because you can’t comprehend how people can fly on a broom.
Magic, right?
“I just don’t get it.” You shrug, chewing your lip nervously. Sirius makes it sound like the sport is in fact a big deal there, so you don’t want to sound rude when you say that.
Peter gives you a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry, me neither.” You laugh at that.
Sirius, with a mischievous look on his face, pats James on the back. “Well, you’re in luck. My friend here is actually the captain!”
Your eyes betray you as you take a good look at James Potter in front of you. He is so handsome he might as well give you an heart attack, but surprisingly you hide your nervousness pretty well.
Putting your elbows on your knees and your head in your hands, you give him an almost flirty smile or at least you try. “I’m all ears, then.”
James, who can feel the heat creeping up his neck, starts to talk, and minute after minute it becomes easier to speak to you.
You are the first person (besides his teammates) who actually enjoys listening to him talk about Quidditch. Maybe it’s because to you it’s completely unfamiliar, but at the same time you can’t hide how your heart melts listening to your sister’s friend get excited about it.
You ask numerous questions, which James actually loves to answer.
“Okay, so the bludger, right?” He nods as he waits for your tenth question in a row.
“Isn’t that a bit dangerous if it actually hits someone? Can’t you die?”
James scratches the back of his neck. “No one has ever died. If you fall, you can break a couple of bones but there are healers nearby who fix the injuries pretty quickly with magic.”
You understand most of it and grasp that an healer may be a doctor in the human world.
Even if you don’t know him at all, James is easy to talk to. Besides his stupidly adorable face that keeps distracting you from actually listening, when he explains something he doesn’t make you feel stupid and even if you’re talking about something so silly, you almost feel seen, so maybe after all you do like James Potter. Maybe a bit too much.
You give him a small smile, as if to say thank you, as your back finds the couch again. He smiles back, and the world around the two of you seems to stop, leaving you and James in a bubble that pops soon enough when Marlene’s attention shifts toward you.
“Ugh, enough about Quidditch. I really love it, but let’s talk about you now” she says, giving you a smirk.
You just shrug, a bit embarrassed, because you know that your reality isn’t as surprising as theirs— to cover that, you chuckle, “what to you want to know?”
You are an open book after all, but at the same time that is the worst possible thing you could have said because Marlene lights up instantly, “everything,” you give her a look “c’mon we haven’t seen each other in forever” she pleads.
It was true, you haven’t seen her since Christmas, but still, you don’t know how to satisfy her hunger of gossip about your life.
She tries again, as your sister watches her best friend torture you, seems to even enjoy it.
“Who do you hang out with?”
You shrug again, because you do have friends, you share lunch with them, study together and go out during the weekends, but only during school-period. In summer it’s a different story.
“Just people from school, nothing special.”
“Anyone you like?” Sirius cuts in, way too quickly to be casual.
You huff out a laugh, “you lot are nosy”.
“We’re interested” he corrects you, and you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes and mutter “in gossip”.
Marlene who proves you wrong, nudges your knees with hers and says in a softer tone “in you”.
You try again, really desperately to convince them to leave it alone, “there’s not much to say, trust me” you almost sound convincing.
Brushing her chin with her fingers, Lily, without thinking, admits, “I mean… there was that boy.”
You groan and in that exact moment you know that you’re fucked, because they may have magic or whatever, but that doesn’t stop them from being humans, teenagers more likely.
Lily realizes right after what she’s done and shoots you an apologetic look, but it’s too late.
“What boy?” Sirius asks, his body fully turning toward you, just like the rest of his friends, they all go quiet, delighted expressions on their faces as they wait for your answer, but James almost looks like he’s seen a ghost.
You shake your head. “It’s nothing.” You really don’t want to think about the guy who gave you hell during these last years and will continue to in September.
You quickly learn that Marlene and Sirius are basically the same person, because they’re putting you on the spot right now without even noticing it.
You don’t mind, it’s just that you really don’t want them to pity you just because your life is boring as hell— at least it’s what you think.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing” Marlene hums.
You sigh, already knowing you’ve lost. “He’s just annoying, alright?”
All of them lean in at the same time, clearly waiting for you to continue. You breathe in “fine” you say almost annoyed,
then you start rambling, words spilling out as your hands move vaguely,
“he’s a toerag, always following me around, trying to ask me out every chance he has, I told him no hundreds of times. Also, when he talks I just want to rip my hair out because he acts like he’s the most interesting person in the room, when he clearly isn’t. It’s just because he’s ego is too big.”
When you look around, you feel totally embarrassed about your outburst, because now they’ll just make fun of you for the rest of their stay, you can just feel it.
But instead, Sirius leans back, a grin (that you’re almost starting to be familiar with) spreading across his face.
Marlene’s eyes widen slightly before she lets out a laugh, turning to Lily. “Oh, Godric.”
You frown, looking between them. “What?”
You notice your sister trying very hard not to smile, as Remus does the same, looking down and shaking his head, while Peter doesn’t even try— he just lets out a short, surprised laugh.
You don’t even turn to see James’ reaction, but you can already guess it’s not much different.
You huff impatiently. “So?”
Lily finally sighs, rubbing her temple like she’s already tired “you just described James in first year,” she says, glancing at him before looking back at you, “with me.”
You laugh incredulously. “But that’s the difference, this guy was in fifth!”
Remus tilts his head slightly, “well…” he drags the word out “second year too” he adds,
“and third” Peter chimes in
“and fourth” Sirius concludes, giving Lily a teasing look, your sister fakes to gag at the implication.
You don’t know why, but you almost feel the word around you stop spinning when they mention all of this.
“Okay, she gets it!” James interrupts them, completely embarrassed by the whole situation.
You’re almost scared to ask, but you do anyway. “So what” your eyes move between Lily and James, “are you dating?”
“God, no!” your sister blurts out, then she stops and gives James a small look “sorry.”
He rolls his eyes, smiling “it’s alright Evans. It’s been two years, you know?”
You almost feel relieved at Lily’s answer and the way she and James interact, but you try to suppress the feeling, because you know it shouldn’t bother you anyway, you had just met the guy.
Moving on from your tremendous experience at school, they all start to talk about regular things that, for you, are far from regular at all. Sometimes, you have to interrupt, asking what the hell they’re saying with their weird wizarding words or even checking if what they’re talking about is real.
You feel a bit silly, really. Lily always tries to keep you in the loop, but not too much, so discovering new things about your sister and the world she now lives in is kind of weird, like a feeling of nostalgia hitting you in the stomach because you’re not there anymore for the best part of her life, almost like you’re losing your sister completely.
Now they’re laughing at something Sirius has said, and you’re not quite following along since you’re still thinking too hard.
Marlene touches your arm slightly, and you snap out of it immediately, giving her your most convincing smile. You don’t want to kill the mood over something so dumb.
“You okay?” she asks, a worried hint in her voice. You give her a small nod, pushing yourself up from the chair, your eyes locking with your sister’s, who is silently asking where you’re going.
“Just going to check something in the kitchen” you say quickly as you excuse yourself.
They are the loveliest people you have ever met, and oh, you adore them so, but you can’t help but feel a weird pit in your stomach every time they talk about their extravagant life with such joy. It’s not their fault, really, you love hearing about it all, but now you’re starting to feel like you’re almost missing something.
Not that you need magic to enjoy life, do you?
Someone enters the room, and it startles you a bit, because still lost in your thoughts you don’t focus on the environment around you. When you turn around, Peter is right in front of you.
“Is everything alright?” he asks.
You just give him a small smile without a proper answer.
“Can I tell you something?” he asks again, and this time you don’t stop yourself from answering with only a gesture.
“Sure” you smile again.
“It’s not that amazing as it sounds.”
Out of everyone, Peter is the one you’ve spoken with the least, not because you don’t want to, it simply never shows the chance, but still, he has caught you in the act, so the real question is: are you really that easy to read?
You huff out a laugh in reply “it’s so easy for you to say that.”
He shakes his head, smiling back. “Trust me, it’s not. I love Hogwarts plenty, and I love my friends, but with the upcoming war, it’s not that easy and-”
He keeps talking, but your brain stops functioning the moment you hear the words upcoming war.
You lift your eyes, and suddenly Peter, bless his heart, realizes the mistake he has just made. His face goes white like he has seen a ghost, and he brings his hands up to cover his mouth.
You ask quietly, just to be sure, “upcoming war?”
The look on his face gives you the answer you fear the most, what he had just said it’s true, you move fast toward the living room.
“Upcoming war?!” you say again, not too loud, but still enough to be heard by everyone, a look of betrayal flashing across your face as you look at your sister.
The comfortable talking in the background dies down as soon as Lily gets up, reaching for you. Her mouth opens to explain what you really need to hear, but instead, without looking at anyone, you storm outside grabbing a jacket as you go.
Lily follows right after, calling after you, “could you please just let me explain!”
You turn around. “Explain? You’re so selfish!” you say loudly, “you invite your friends over, let them meet me and befriend me, while for all I know they could all die in a few months!” you gulp down the burn in your throat as you say something you didn’t even want to realize a few minutes ago.
“You could die in a few months!”
“I didn’t want to worry you” she says, hugging herself against the cold.
You scoff “I’ll worry either way because I am your sister and I love you.”
Lily nods guilty. “I know, and I love you too.”
She steps closer and pulls you into a hug, while you try not to cry. “I am sorry,” she repeats, over and over again, as she draws slow circles on your back like she used to when you were kids.
“And no one is going to die, alright? I promise.”
You breathe gently into her chest as you almost lose your balance on your tiptoes.
When you break off the hug, you look at your sister’s face, tired and truly sorry about having lied to you.
You give her a warning look, “later I want you to explain everything to me. No more secrets.”
She agrees immediately “no more secrets.”
You and Lily walk back toward the house, it doesn’t take long, the silence fills in the air, only your steps and the distant noise of the others inside.
To be honest, your chest still feels heavy after discovering an unimaginable truth, so when you reach the door, you stop, your hand hovers near the handle, but you don’t push it open.
You turn back to face your sister, who’s right behind you, taking a deep breath as a small frown forms on your face.
“What is it?” she asks gently.
You hesitate, your hands rubbing over your face, “they must think I’m a bitch right now.”
Your eyes sparkle, your lips on the verge of trembling, but your sister intervenes right away, she takes a step toward you, her features softening, placing her hands on your shoulders.
“They love you” she says gently, trying to reassure yo, but it doesn’t work well as she imagines, you look away, but she tries again anyway,
“you’re not the one in the wrong here. I should’ve told you. We would’ve all reacted the same way, if not worse.”
You take a deep breath, and even if you don’t say it, Lily can feel the thank you through your eyes.
You open the door, but when you step into the empty living room, your stomach drops, for a split second you think you’ve ruined everything, but then you hear the chattering, laughter, the sound of plates clinking from the kitchen.
You follow your sister, who takes the lead and goes in first.
Sirius and Remus are bickering about how the table should be set, while Peter fixes the napkins with precise movements— once he’s done, he passes them to James, who places them around the table completely ignoring his friends’ arguing, meanwhile Marlene is already sitting at the table, flipping through a magazine.
Before you can say anything, Marlene glances up and stands, making her way toward you and Lily.
“Oh, there you are. Don’t leave me alone with these four ever again” she pleads jokingly.
“Oi!” Sirius scolds her, but she doesn’t even reply, she just raises her hand and flips him off, which earns an eye roll from the boy, “classy.”
She blows him a kiss like nothing happened.
Lily lets out a small breath beside you, relieved that that’s all it is. This is why she cares about them so deeply, they don’t even bother asking what to do, they just do it, and somehow it works every time.
Remus, who looks like a tired mum of five, claps his hands together “well, dinner’s ready! Let’s sit!”
You nod quickly, still a bit caught between everything, and take your seat, which just so happens to be next to James.
You don’t think too much about it, but you’re glad it happened
While the others keep talking and passing plates, James leans slightly closer, lowering his voice just for you “you okay?” he asks.
When you turn toward him, you realize your faces are only a few inches apart. You smile a bit stupidly, and when he notices, he does the same, murmuring a quick “sorry” as the redness creeps back into his face for the third time that day, then he goes back to stare down at his plate.
“I’m okay” you say, a bit hesitant.
He turns back to you again, this time keeping a little more distance (which you think is a shame)and he gives you one of the prettiest smiles you’ve ever seen.
He brushes your arm briefly with his hand, maybe he’s just trying to comfort you or maybe it was just a stupid excuse so he could touch you.
You let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding, and again it feels like the space around you stops, but it doesn’t— because Sirius smirks and elbows Remus to make him notice the interaction, and Remus does the same with Peter, while Marlene and Lily glance between you and James, then at each other, silently confirming what they’re both seeing: the two of you, completely into each other.
Dinner goes on, the kitchen filling again with overlapping voices and laughter, and you let yourself enjoy everything.
You’re still overwhelmed, sure, but somehow, it feels easier now.
